AK and I took advantage of our last class time to visit the town records and track down a vote from a 1731 town meeting. Note how African Americans are allowed to worship, but they must gather in the northwest corner of the gallery in the meeting house. To gather what the meeting house might have looked like one could go over to Simsbury and visit their old, two story meeting house. But the question remains, why the north west corner? Does this “north-west” direction have a connection to the north-west corne where African Americans are buried in the center cemetery? Let us know if you can share any expertise in the comment thread below.

The first image begins the notes for the meeting on May 17, 1731. The 12th item voted: “Voted, to allow ye [the] masters of negroes, and free negroes, a liberty to, for them to make a seat for sd [said] Negroes at ye [the] Norwest corner of ye [the] Meeting House, upon ye [the] beams.